"The snow levels went down to 2,000 feet," said Charlotte Dewey with the National Weather Service. "The Superstition Mountains were covered with snow. We had small hail and graupel in some Valley locations."

During the storm, Flagstaff public schools and Northern Arizona University were closed because of snow. In metro Phoenix, graupel covered cars and bounced off the sidewalk catching drivers by surprise.

A National Weather Service forecast predicted up to 6 inches of snow in Flagstaff and Prescott and up to 9 inches of snow in Payson on Wednesday.